Pedrosa second fastest on day one in Valencia with Marquez in close fifth place

2017-11-10 17:02
Dani Pedrosa made a strong start to the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, a track where he’s the most successful rider, with six wins across all classes.

Dani was tenth in the first free practice session but made the best of much warmer temperatures in FP2, lapping in the 1’31s on 10 occasions and setting the second fastest lap time, just 0.122 off the top.

Marc Marquez ended both FP1 and FP2 in fifth place, despite suffering a small crash in turn 2 at the end of the day.

The Championship leader showed a fast pace using just one set of tires in each session, his focus set on being prepared for Sunday’s race.

Dani Pedrosa
2ND 1'30.762
“I’m happy enough with how today went. In the afternoon, when the track was a little warmer and there was more grip than in the morning, I felt more comfortable on the bike. If it remains dry through the weekend, as it seems it will, the track will continue to improve and the grip will also get better, so we must remain focused and continue in this direction. Today we worked well to understand the tires, our pace and bike setup, but tomorrow will be another important day of practice and opportunity to continue the progress. Sunday’s race is in the afternoon, but we want to improve also in cooler conditions.”

Dani Pedrosa
Marc Marquez
5TH 1'31.243
“I felt really good today, so we just tried to work hard for the race, riding with used tires to find the best setting and the best compromise. We tried two different setups, one similar to what we used last year and one more based on what we’ve been using recently. Tomorrow we’ll adjust the final details and we’ll go for a time attack, but I’m happy with the general feeling. Our pace this morning, on a medium rear tire, was good and in the afternoon I felt well on a soft rear, despite a small crash during my last lap when I was pushing a little bit more. It was important to start the weekend well, and I feel good on the bike, so we’ll try to keep this momentum going until Sunday.”

Marc Marquez
Free Practice Results

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap
1
LORENZO
Jorge 99 SPA Ducati Team 1'30.640
2
PEDROSA
Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team 0.122
3
DOVIZIOSO
Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team 0.309
4
ZARCO
Johann 5 FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 0.414
5
MARQUEZ
Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team 0.603
6
MILLER
Jack 43 AUS

Source: Honda Racing Corporation

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